With 70% of New Yorkers having received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, on June 16th Governor Cuomo announced that New York State eliminated many of the COVID-19 restrictions that have guided campus operations over the past year. Given this change in state guidelines, the fact that the positivity rate in the Marist community and Hudson Valley is exceedingly low, and because the College is in between academic semesters, Marist will follow New York State’s revised guidance for the summer period, June 23 through August 15.  Later this summer, the College will communicate the specific procedures for the Fall 2021 semester, including the process for verification of the required COVID-19 vaccination for all students and employees.

During the period of June 23 through August 15th, 2021, the following will NOT be required:

• Masks/face coverings for vaccinated individuals. Following New York State guidelines, “unvaccinated individuals continue to be responsible for wearing masks,” in accordance with federal CDC guidance.  Masks/face coverings are thus still required for unvaccinated individuals when indoors in any College public space. 
• Social distancing. Unvaccinated individuals should continue to maintain six feet of distance while indoors.
• Daily health attestations.  Individuals who experience any COVID-19 symptoms should contact a health care provider prior to coming to campus.  The COVIDClear requirement on MyMarist will be suspended during this Summer period.
• De-densified offices and campus spaces. Each operational area should be in the process of transitioning remote employees back to on-campus work during the months of June and July. Accommodations currently in place will not be automatically extended. Individuals in need of an ADA-related accommodation in the Fall must contact the Office of Human Resources and submit a new request.  All requests will be reviewed and approved in accordance with College policy and federal and state laws. 
• Visitor Screening is not required.

To implement these interim protocols, the College will be utilizing an “honor system” for all campus community individuals who are not vaccinated, and who, therefore, must continue to wear face coverings and adhere to social distancing requirements when indoors as described above.  This requirement is mandated by NYS and we expect it to be followed by all unvaccinated individuals. We understand that the removal of face coverings may make individuals uncomfortable, but we ask members of the College community not to take it on upon themselves to enforce masking behavior. As a reminder, many individuals who are vaccinated may choose to remain masked so we should not assume vaccine status based on use of face coverings. If any situation or behavior is concerning to you, please bring such an issue to the attention of Human Resources at x3349(for employees) and the Office of Student Conduct x3514 (for students).  

Thank you for your commitment to the health and safety of our campus community over the past year, and to the many faculty, staff, and students who worked hard to ensure Marist’s compliance with these requirements.

Sincerely,

Geoff Brackett, Executive Vice President
Thom Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Deb DiCaprio. Vice President for Student Affairs